sea sickness!!

[Darnold9999]

I get seasick - but have only actually fed the fish while diving twice - once through the reg at 10 feet in 0 vis and then once again off the back of the boat. Also own a boat and have only had to use the railing a couple of times there as well.

However - I am always managing the sea sick process in order to avoid it. In any kind of rough weather you will find me outside, centre of the boat with eyes pinned to the horizon. Look down to put my gear together and I can feel it coming on, go in to the cabin same thing.

Add me to the list of those that can get sick in the water. If it is rough and the vis is poor so there are no external references... I will make the safety stop at 20 or even 25 feet in really bad swells. Floating in a wetsuit behind the boat is not a solution for me.

To the new divers out there, in 300 + dives I don't think I have seen more than a couple of others actually get sick, and once you get below 20 feet or so all the motion is usually gone so most people recover pretty quickly. The more time you spend on the water the less likely it is that you will be sick. I have to be much more careful at the beginning of a trip than at the end.

Have tried all the meds and find they don't make much difference at all and they just make me more stupid than normal so I have given up on them for diving.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

I've been taking sudafed before diving if there is even a miniscule hint that I might be congested. I had a reverse block once- not fun at all.

As for the seasick meds... I used to eat ginger snaps, then I learned there is no ginger in them, so now I don't bother with anything.

I've never been sick - knock on wood. Closest I ever got was on the ride back in from the Naeco in heavy seas. A thunderstorm blew in while we were down. The crawl back in to Beaufort took something like 5 or 6 hours and there were definitely some monsters mixed in with the 6-8 footers. The instrument panel on the boat came crashing down at one point. I was just fine until somebody puked his breakfast all over me. Thankfully all the spray (spray is an understatement) from the waves washed it off me pretty quick. Something about the smell of vomit makes me a little queasy.

Some people get sick all the time. If that were the case with me, I think I'd give up diving around here.

Oh man.........6 hours to Beaufort, what a ride in those seas. But I love the Naeco (sorry about my original mis-spelling).

The puke part sounds like a Seinfeld episode I remember. I hope they paid for your drycleaning!!

I'd call the spray you spoke about pure deck wash. Sounds like you were out with Discovery. I've been on their boats a few times. For many years, we dove on the Pelican. It had decent top and side curtains. Good crew boat. But Capt. Ray sold it a few years back. Really bummed us all out.

 

[fda483]

I make meclizine for a living (along with many other drugs). I take it any time the seas are going to be on the rough side and have never had a problem. BTW - it also works great if your dog gets car sick!

Joe

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

Yes, it was Discovery- Captain's Lady.

3 out of 6 (all experienced) fed the fish that day.

I remember it's Naeco because its Ocean spelled backward. And it's still my all time favorite dive. We had 2 ft seas and sun on the way out and I could see the dive boat from the wreck at 135 fsw. Life everywhere you looked. It started getting darker while were hanging and it was clear the seas were building. When I crawled back on board the seas had built to 4 already, a huge thunderstorm on the horizon and the only way home was through that mess.

I have a lot of respect for Capt. Leroy getting us all back safe and sound that day. One of the guys on the boat with a couple of thousand dives said he had seen maybe a few days that bad but never anything worse.

We'll be down on 8-6 to 8-9, out on Olympus. Hoping for good seas and good hunting. I hear that Olympus won't let anyone hunt on the Papoose anymore with the Sand Tigers. They never bothered us before. I know this thread is about sea sickness, but sometime it goes off in tangents. I'm really not a fan of their big boat, everybody wants to go to the U Boat. It's a good dive, but hunting is not to good. I hope we don't get a group of folks that hurl. Maybe I should bring a few cases of Ginger Ale.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

I get seasick - but have only actually fed the fish while diving twice - once through the reg at 10 feet in 0 vis and then once again off the back of the boat. Also own a boat and have only had to use the railing a couple of times there as well.

However - I am always managing the sea sick process in order to avoid it. In any kind of rough weather you will find me outside, centre of the boat with eyes pinned to the horizon. Look down to put my gear together and I can feel it coming on, go in to the cabin same thing.

Add me to the list of those that can get sick in the water. If it is rough and the vis is poor so there are no external references... I will make the safety stop at 20 or even 25 feet in really bad swells. Floating in a wetsuit behind the boat is not a solution for me.

To the new divers out there, in 300 + dives I don't think I have seen more than a couple of others actually get sick, and once you get below 20 feet or so all the motion is usually gone so most people recover pretty quickly. The more time you spend on the water the less likely it is that you will be sick. I have to be much more careful at the beginning of a trip than at the end.

Have tried all the meds and find they don't make much difference at all and they just make me more stupid than normal so I have given up on them for diving.

Try the Saltines. It's really bland. Ritz and a little peanut butter is OK too. Water or Gatoraid. I used to try to keep hydrated even if I did get sick. It will make you feel better. But I wouldn't chug the liquid. Regular sips works for me. I'm with you. I took dramamine once, and it made me really lathargic. I x-ed the dive since I wasn't 100%. An expensive, bouncy boat ride. What a day.................

 

[Herk_Man]

My dad gets motion sick if he looks at a picture of a boat or an aircraft. He has started using those wrist bracelets that have the little pressure buttons on them. He swears by them. The patches work but they mess up your near vision. Some of the pills work (but you have to take them before you get on the boat) but can make you sleepy.

My LDS sells a little tube thing that you pop the cap off of and sniff that is supposed to reverse the effects of motion sickness. It's all natural. I've never had to use it but the LDS owner says he knows people that have used it successfully. It is called Quease EASE.

 

[Jax]

Try the Saltines. It's really bland. Ritz and a little peanut butter is OK too. Water or Gatoraid. I used to try to keep hydrated even if I did get sick. It will make you feel better. But I wouldn't chug the liquid. Regular sips works for me. I'm with you. I took dramamine once, and it made me really lathargic. I x-ed the dive since I wasn't 100%. An expensive, bouncy boat ride. What a day.................

Well, if you're going to spew, be thoughtful! Pick something the fish will like . . .

 

[miked]

Well, if you're going to spew, be thoughtful! Pick something the fish will like . . .

Good thought, but the fish are definitely not picky.

And unfortunately, for some people, it seems as if the choppiness of the water is not the only factor.

A few weeks ago, I was in Bermuda, on a boat dive in almost flat calm seas (<1 ft).
We did our safety stop about 10 ft from the boat, near the stern.
Evidently, somebody already on board got seasick, and, quite correctly, hurled over the side.
The fish, who were swimming around us, immediately took off towards the "technicolor cloud" and feasted away-no morsel was left unconsumed. (yuck,but...okay)

 

[jallen013]

the first time we cruised my wife had a really rough time with sea sickness the first couple of days. we finally wised up and went down to the medic and they had pills called "sea calm" that worked like a charm. when we got home, i looked for the same pills online and found this:

Meclizine HCl ($5.27 per 100 @planetrx.com)

same thing, just the generic. works like a charm! pop a couple of the tiny pills about an hour before going out on the boat, no problems with sea sickness since. quick, easy and cheap. perfecto.

 

[NC Wreck Diver]

Well, if you're going to spew, be thoughtful! Pick something the fish will like . . .

Hi Jax:

Thoughtful and VERY FUNNY!!